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So this novel is set (at least partially) after A:R? Interesting way to go about it. I'm not dismissing it outright, but going further away from the films and events people like (and remember) seems a little foolish.

Second, No, the aliens did not "Swear revenge." Either the editor put that in or I was running on fumes. They marked Ripley's genetic scent, effectively, to let them know that a serious threat was nearby. Third, the novel is set a long while after Alien: Resurrection. The entire premise of this novel is to offer a sort of "reboot" to the series, that honors all of the things that have gone before and establishes a continuity that keeps all of the previous situations intact, including the dissolution of Weyland-Yutany, the devastation of Europe at the end of A:R, ALL of the movies and events as well as several video games. After the first draft of the novel was written Fox went over it with a fine-toothed comb and several changes were made.

The return of Weyland-Yutani is explained. The reasons that Decker is chosen are explained. and because one review commented on this: no, i did not make major changes to the Xenomorphs. That might be something that happens later on, but for now there are extremely strict rules because Fox wants to UN-muddy the waters that have been muddied again and again by comics, other books, etc. Ultimately nothing that happens in the book would have happened without either a) the express permission of Fox or b) the express DESIRE of Fox. in point of fact, the initial concept behind the novel came from the powers that be at Fox. That doesn't mean I didn't plot the beast out, but the concept of a descendant of Ripley was theirs, as was the empathic link.

I hope that clarifies a few things and if you take the risk, I hope you enjoy the novel.

Hey dude, welcome to the forum - And thanks for clarifying those points!Much as the first of the new Aliens novels was a decent read, there was a lot I ( And others ) found pretty "wrong" about it - And that line about "Swearing revenge" reaally turned me off ( The idea of the Aliens having any intelligence above that of an animal, IMHO, just doesn't fit - I'm glad that particular plotline was removed from the original Alien script! )

Hope you stick around and join in the banter!And maybe even let us in on what Fox made you change, once everyone's read your book?

I am glad to clarify and I'm also glad to answer questions. I can let you in on the biggest change right now. At one point, Fox was considering on the first two movies as the solid background for the novel. Later they changed their minds and wanted to add in pretty much all of it. As a result several scenes had to be corrected. I'm okay with that, actually. There were aspects of A:R that I really liked.

And have you heard, by the way that apparently a fifth movie is being seriously considered?

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JamesAMoore wrote:

Hi again,

I am glad to clarify and I'm also glad to answer questions. I can let you in on the biggest change right now. At one point, Fox was considering on the first two movies as the solid background for the novel. Later they changed their minds and wanted to add in pretty much all of it. As a result several scenes had to be corrected. I'm okay with that, actually. There were aspects of A:R that I really liked.

And have you heard, by the way that apparently a fifth movie is being seriously considered?

Regarding the fifth movie I am sure Fox can find a ton of extras here who will bring their own costumes and props that will work for zero to no money.

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Welcome James!I am disappointed that your book takes place after A:R, but that's on me. I'm disappointed the book focuses on Ripley's bloodline, but that's on Fox. Beyond that I am curious to read it and I appreciate your willingness to come here and discuss it!I thought the previous book started well, and then suddenly Ripley gets shoe-horned into the plot with now chance of being in peril or being allowed to remember the events. It made for a frustrating read.

Welcome James!I am disappointed that your book takes place after A:R, but that's on me. I'm disappointed the book focuses on Ripley's bloodline, but that's on Fox. Beyond that I am curious to read it and I appreciate your willingness to come here and discuss it!I thought the previous book started well, and then suddenly Ripley gets shoe-horned into the plot with now chance of being in peril or being allowed to remember the events. It made for a frustrating read.

To be fair, the notion of her not remembering was almost a given BECAUSE the book takes place between the movies. I thought Tim did a great job, but I have to admit a certain bias as he's a friend of mine.

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I totally agree that it was a given, and sadly stories like that have a hard time carving out an interesting or exciting plot. The Star Wars prequels having C-3PO's memory wiped, that X-Men Origins film doing the same for Wolverine; these stories ultimately feel like a cheat.

Tim's original characters and situations are far more interesting. In the interest of full disclosure, here's my review of his book:

Actually, Tim was VERY hyped about working with Ripley. She's a great character and he practically salivated to add her in. That she lived, of course, was a given. She had to in order to make the story fit. I was rather lucky in that I could pretty much have carte blanche when it came to deaths. (Good review, by the way)On the Star Wars issue, with memory wipes, yeah, not really dazzled by that twist. On Wolverine: actually, his having amnesia was a HUGE part of his back story in the comics. He went for decades unaware of who he was and it was a constant point of anger for him. I was rather disappointed when they eventually solved that particular mystery.

Now, just for kicks, can you guess which character in Sea Of Sorrows was actually an android?

James - Quick question for you, I'd be interested to hear an author's point of view on this!

In which format do YOU prefer people buy your books?Physical, or digital?

Since I could get the paperback for a fiver, but the Kindle edition is over a pound more! ( Get your "Tight Scottish git" jokes in while you can, folks :p )And I kinda do grudge paying MORE for less actual product - Granted, I get it right away but "You're paying for the convenience" means nothing when I'm ALSO paying for Amazon's convenience in that nobody needs to print it, get it to Amazon, repick it from Amazon's stores, and then ship it to me!

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Scapey wrote:

James - Quick question for you, I'd be interested to hear an author's point of view on this!

In which format do YOU prefer people buy your books?Physical, or digital?

Since I could get the paperback for a fiver, but the Kindle edition is over a pound more! ( Get your "Tight Scottish git" jokes in while you can, folks :p )And I kinda do grudge paying MORE for less actual product - Granted, I get it right away but "You're paying for the convenience" means nothing when I'm ALSO paying for Amazon's convenience in that nobody needs to print it, get it to Amazon, repick it from Amazon's stores, and then ship it to me!

Silence, Kobus! :p I'm genuinely interested - As I know a bit about how the music industry works, and how bands get shafted left right and centre by their labels!If me paying extra gets the author more profit, then great, I'll do that ( I don't have space for many more paper books anyway! )But it pisses me off that publishers charge MORE, when there's no physical product shipping - Hell, even if you could buy the paper book, and pay an extra quid for the Kindle edition, I'd do THAT!

Scapey, I honestly don't have a preference. I still like having hard copies, of course, but there are a lot of my novels I buy for Kindle because I have a very full library I'm trying to cut down to size. As a general rule a higher price means more money for me, but the difference isn;t really that large when you consider the percentages.

I finished your book last week - I ended up ripping through it in no time - and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I particularly liked the world-building you did in the first half. I think I ended up preferring it to Out of the Shadows, although that's no insult to Tim Lebbon - I just couldn't get over Fox's insistence that Ripley had to be shoe-horned into that story. It's a real shame because it kinda spoilt his novel for me. I mean, who's supposed to have put the grappling gun back under the Narcissus' door after Ripley left the Marion?!

JamesAMoore wrote:

Now, just for kicks, can you guess which character in Sea Of Sorrows was actually an android?

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